Green out of colour with tourism ‘boost’

From European Voice's Entre-Nous column

5/26/04, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 8:30 PM CET

John Hontolez, like all environmentalists, was mightily relieved when the term ‘sustainable development’ – omitted in earlier versions – was reinserted into the draft EU constitution. But the European Environmental Bureau chief has been wondering why a “fairly good” energy chapter “is now disappearing”.

And then there’s that ever-popular ‘competitiveness’ word, which keeps cropping up in the unlikeliest of places.

“Now they are suggesting adding a chapter on tourism,” said the Dutchman. But it features “an extremely traditional text”, he added, just like several other chapters that could use some updating to reflect modern green needs.

It says the EU should boost “tourism” and “the competitiveness of tourism”, said Hontolez. “I find this extremely stupid – is the EU ‘competing’ in the tourism sector with America?”

There is something splendidly parochial about the state-aid investigation launched last week by the European Commission’s competition department into JC Decaux, a French advertising company. The question …